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The Pan African Medical Journal 2022online health information-seeking behaviour has been on the increase and patients are seeking more responsibility in decisions about their health. Previous studies have...
INTRODUCTION
online health information-seeking behaviour has been on the increase and patients are seeking more responsibility in decisions about their health. Previous studies have mostly predicted online health information-seeking behaviour with demographic characteristics and not current behaviours driven by improving online information. The study attempts to bridge the gap between fast-developing patient online health information-seeking behaviour and health behaviour research.
METHODS
a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Ghanaian city of Accra. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to reveal frequencies and range of scores on measurement scales. All measurement scales used in the study were tested for reliability. Univariate analysis was used to find correlations and key properties of the dependent and independent variables. Multivariate analysis was used to test hypotheses.
RESULTS
one hundred and eighteen (118) adults were surveyed. Cronbach alpha reliabilities of measurement scales ranged from .71 to .91. The hypothesis that care seeking behaviour and patient communication pattern predict online health information seeking behaviour, was supported (r = .45, standard error = 5.84) by a multiple linear regression.
CONCLUSION
patients are engaged in online health information seeking because they want to be more active in decisions about their health. Findings further suggest that patients rely on online information to direct communications with their caregivers.
Topics: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ghana; Health Behavior; Humans; Information Seeking Behavior; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 36060849
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2022.42.124.33623 -
BMC Public Health Sep 2022General health check-ups are an important element of healthcare, as they are designed to detect diseases, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have...
BACKGROUND
General health check-ups are an important element of healthcare, as they are designed to detect diseases, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Recent studies have found that financial literacy promotes preventive healthcare usage and reduces risky health behaviors such as smoking, lack of exercise, and gambling. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that financial literacy, as a rational decision-making tool, is positively associated with health check-up behavior in Japan.
METHODS
We extracted data on financial literacy, the main explanatory variable of this study, from the 2010 wave of the Preference Parameter Study (PPS) of Osaka University. Data on health check-up behavior as a dependent variable, along with control variables, were obtained from the 2011 PPS wave. Our sample focused on Japan's middle-aged working population (40-64 years), and we applied probit regressions to test our hypothesis.
RESULTS
Our final sample size was 2,208 participants after merging the two datasets. Descriptive statistics show that respondents had moderate financial literacy (mean = 0.62, SD = 0.33), low financial education (mean = 0.17, SD = 0.38), and low participation (mean = 31.75%, SD = 46.56%) in the health check-up. The probit regression analysis showed that financial literacy is insignificantly associated with health check-up behavior in Japan (coefficient = -0.0229; 95% CI: -0.2011-0.1551; p-value = 0.801). However, demographic factors such as being male (coefficient = -0.2299; 95% CI: -0.3649--0.0950; p-value = 0.001), older (coefficient = 0.0280; 95% CI: 0.0188 - 0.0371; p-value = 0.000), and married (coefficient = 0.3217; 95% CI: 0.0728 - 0.5705; p-value = 0.011), as well as risky health behavior such as smoking (coefficient = -0.2784; 95% CI: -0.4262--0.1305; p-value = 0.000) are significantly related to health check-up behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that financial literacy insignificantly motivates people to behave rationally and understand the value of health check-ups as a tool for sustainable health.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Behavior; Health Literacy; Health Risk Behaviors; Humans; Japan; Male; Middle Aged; Preventive Health Services
PubMed: 36076219
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14079-8 -
BMC Geriatrics Apr 2022Chronic disease is a major cause of mortality among elderly individuals in China, and treatment is a substantial public health burden. However, behavioural interventions...
BACKGROUND
Chronic disease is a major cause of mortality among elderly individuals in China, and treatment is a substantial public health burden. However, behavioural interventions may be more important than mere clinical treatment of these chronic diseases.
OBJECTIVE
The paper aimed to assess the health behaviour of a sample of elderly individuals with chronic diseases in Jiangsu Province, China and to identify how demographic characteristics influence health behaviour. Furthermore, the group that would likely need the most health intervention was identified.
DESIGN
A version of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) was adapted to Chinese to evaluate health behaviours in six dimensions: nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, physical activity, stress management, health responsibility, and spiritual growth. Multistage random sampling was conducted from October 2020 to May 2021. Questionnaires incorporating the adapted HPLP-II were distributed to 900 elderly patients (i.e., aged 60 and above) with chronic diseases in the three sampled prefectures of Jiangsu Province; of these questionnaires, 791 were completed. Univariate t tests, principal component analysis, and multivariate linear regressions were employed in the analysis.
RESULTS
The average total score of respondents on health behaviour was 73.73. The dimensions (ordered from highest to lowest scores) are as follows: "nutrition", "tobacco and alcohol use", "health responsibility", "spiritual growth", "stress management", and "physical activity". The multivariate linear regression suggested that the determinants (P < 0.05) of health behaviour (total score) were income, sex, age, relationship status, residence, and education.
CONCLUSIONS
Elderly patients with chronic diseases in Jiangsu Province generally behaved in a healthy manner. "Physical activity", "stress management", and "spiritual growth" were the dimensions that would most benefit from health intervention, while elderly single/divorced/widowed patients with lower income and less education should be the target group for health intervention.
Topics: Aged; China; Chronic Disease; Health Behavior; Health Status; Healthy Lifestyle; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35392819
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-022-03010-w -
JMIR MHealth and UHealth Feb 2023Community health workers (CHWs) have become essential to the promotion of healthy behaviors, yet their work is complicated by challenges both within and beyond their... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Community health workers (CHWs) have become essential to the promotion of healthy behaviors, yet their work is complicated by challenges both within and beyond their control. These challenges include resistance to the change of existing behaviors, disbelief of health messages, limited community health literacy, insufficient CHW communication skills and knowledge, lack of community interest and respect for CHWs, and CHWs' lack of adequate supplies. The rising penetration of "smart" technology (eg, smartphones and tablets) in low- and middle-income countries facilitates the use of portable electronic devices in the field.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review examines to what extent mobile health in the form of smart devices may enhance the delivery of public health messages in CHW-client interactions, thereby addressing the aforementioned challenges and inducing client behavior change.
METHODS
We conducted a structured search of the PubMed and LILACS databases using subject heading terms in 4 categories: technology user, technology device, use of technology, and outcome. Eligibility criteria included publication since January 2007, CHWs delivering a health message aided by a smart device, and face-to-face communication between CHWs and clients. Eligible studies were analyzed qualitatively using a modified version of the Partners in Health conceptual framework.
RESULTS
We identified 12 eligible studies, 10 (83%) of which used qualitative or mixed methods approaches. We found that smart devices mitigate challenges encountered by CHWs by improving their knowledge, motivation, and creativity (eg, through self-made videos); their status within the community; and the credibility of their health messages. The technology stimulated interest in both CHWs and clients-and sometimes even in bystanders and neighbors. Media content produced locally or reflecting local customs was strongly embraced. Yet, the effect of smart devices on the quality of CHW-client interactions was inconclusive. Interactions suffered as CHWs were tempted to replace educational conversations with clients by passively watching video content. Furthermore, a series of technical difficulties experienced especially by older and less educated CHWs compromised some of the advantages brought about by mobile devices. Adequate CHW training ameliorated these difficulties. Only 1 study (8%) considered client health behavior change as an end point, thus revealing a major research gap.
CONCLUSIONS
Smart mobile devices may augment CHWs' field performance and enhance face-to-face interactions with clients, yet they also generate new challenges. The available evidence is scarce, mostly qualitative, and focused on a limited range of health outcomes. Future research should include larger-scale interventions across a wide range of health outcomes and feature client health behavior change as an end point.
Topics: Humans; Community Health Workers; Telemedicine; Health Promotion; Motivation; Health Behavior
PubMed: 36811947
DOI: 10.2196/42023 -
International Journal of Environmental... May 2022“Coronary prone behaviour pattern” refers to a way of coping with environmental stressors, otherwise known as type A behaviour patterns. Stress, unlimited working...
“Coronary prone behaviour pattern” refers to a way of coping with environmental stressors, otherwise known as type A behaviour patterns. Stress, unlimited working hours, and the shift system are conducive to an “unhealthy life style”, conducted by nurses. The aim of the study was to assess the “coronary prone behaviour pattern”, taking into account health behaviour and work performed by Polish nurses. Method: This was a descriptive study conducted from June 2017 to May 2018 among nurses (N = 1080) working primary care or in training facilities in Silesia, Poland. Data were acquired through a series of questionnaires and are presented as descriptive statistics. Results: The “coronary prone behaviour pattern” (type A behaviour) was manifested by 333 (30.8%) nurses, type B by 272 (25.2%). The “coronary prone behaviour pattern” respondents showed a risk of developing a problem with alcohol (p = 0.003) less frequently compared with other respondents. In addition, nurses with the abovementioned behaviour pattern ate better (M = 16.66; SD = 6.11) compared with those with the type B behaviour pattern (M = 15.49; SD = 6.52). In terms of mental and physical wellbeing, people with type A behavioural patterns had significantly (p < 0.001) better mental and physical wellbeing and, on average, better results in coping with stress compared with other behavioural patterns of nurses. Conclusion: The occurrence of the “coronary prone behaviour pattern” was associated with the health-promoting behaviours of nurses being the subject of the analysis, i.e., better mental and physical wellbeing, better ability to cope with stress, and a lower risk of problems with alcohol and proper nutrition.
Topics: Health Behavior; Humans; Life Style; Nurses; Poland; Surveys and Questionnaires; Type A Personality
PubMed: 35681946
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116358 -
Economics and Human Biology Aug 2022Education and risky health behaviors are strongly negatively correlated. Education may affect health behaviors by enabling healthier choices through higher disposable...
Education and risky health behaviors are strongly negatively correlated. Education may affect health behaviors by enabling healthier choices through higher disposable income, increasing information about the harmful effects of risky health behaviors, or altering time preferences. Alternatively, the observed negative correlation may stem from reverse causality or unobserved confounders. Based on the data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study linked to register-based information on educational attainment and family background, this paper identifies the causal effect of education on risky health behaviors. To examine causal effects, we used a genetic score as an instrument for years of education. We found that individuals with higher education allocated more attention to healthy habits. In terms of health behaviors, highly educated people were less likely to smoke. Some model specifications also indicated that the highly educated consumed more fruit and vegetables, but the results were imprecise in this regard. No causal effect was found between education and abusive drinking. In brief, inference based on genetic instruments showed that higher education leads to better choices in some but not all dimensions of health behaviors.
Topics: Educational Status; Finland; Health Behavior; Health Risk Behaviors; Humans; Mendelian Randomization Analysis
PubMed: 35354116
DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101134 -
International Journal of Environmental... Mar 2021The oral health situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the worst in Europe. We investigated the oral health behaviour of primary schoolchildren and their parents...
The oral health situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the worst in Europe. We investigated the oral health behaviour of primary schoolchildren and their parents in Sarajevo. This was an anonymous cross-sectional survey among third-grade schoolchildren and their parents' oral health habits in Canton Sarajevo. Cluster random sampling yielded a representative sample from all the public schools in Canton Sarajevo in 2019. The survey targeted a total of 441 children and 365 parents. Two thirds (66.5%) of the children reported brushing their teeth twice daily, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Girls brushed their teeth significantly more often than did the boys (74% vs. 58%, = 0.004). Children living in residential areas of middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) reported better oral health habits than did those living in areas of low SES. Our study showed that Sarajevo children's oral health habits were poor. One-third of the nine-year-olds failed to brush their teeth according to recommendations, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Improving the children's oral health in the future will urgently require national oral health promotion and prevention programmes.
Topics: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Caries; Europe; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; Oral Health; Oral Hygiene; Toothbrushing
PubMed: 33800979
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063235 -
BMC Public Health Nov 2022This study aims to identify the relationships between health behaviours (healthy diet, physical activity, not smoking and social activity) and well-being among older...
BACKGROUND
This study aims to identify the relationships between health behaviours (healthy diet, physical activity, not smoking and social activity) and well-being among older adults with a Surinamese background.
METHODS
Community-dwelling older adults (≥ 70 years) with a Surinamese background living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, were identified by the municipal register. A survey study was conducted to assess background information, health behaviours (healthy diet, physical activity, not smoking and social activity) and well-being. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the relationships of health behaviours with well-being while controlling for background characteristics.
RESULTS
Average age of participants was 76.2 (4.9) years, slightly more than half of them were female (54.2%). Almost half of the participants had a low-income level (49.6%). More than half of the participants met the Dutch guidelines of fruit intake (63.0%) and vegetable intake (62.8%). Less than half of the participants met the guidelines of fish intake (40.9%) and physical activity (39.8%). The majority of the participants were non-smokers (87.9%). Most of the participants had daily contact with family/friends (90.9%) and slightly more than half of the participants visited family/friends often (53.6%). Looking at the health behaviours, a positive relationship was found between eating enough fruit (β = .109; p ≤ 0.05) and vegetables (β = .135; p ≤ 0.01), physical activity (β = .164; p ≤ 0.001) and often visiting family/friends (β = .158; p ≤ 0.001) with well-being.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that next to traditional health behaviours also social activity is an essential health behaviour for the well-being of older Surinamese adults. Research about health promotion should expand its focus by including social activity as health behaviour.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Netherlands; Vegetables; Fruit; Health Behavior; Exercise; Diet
PubMed: 36324120
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14414-z -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2020The number of Internet users searching for health-related issues increases significantly every year. The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how the...
The number of Internet users searching for health-related issues increases significantly every year. The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how the information about health and disease obtained from the Internet by patients influenced them and how different e-health services can affect the patients' choice of the doctor. The research was based on a national survey conducted among 1000 Polish adults. The study was carried out with the use of the computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). The study showed that e-health facilities are increasingly affecting the patient's choice of doctor. Among the highest rated factors, the possibility of setting the date of appointment online and practice's own website were indicated. Information on health and disease obtained from the Internet influenced respondents in many areas. Almost half of health Internet users (HI-users) wanted to change their diet and increase healthy physical activity under the influence of health information obtained online. Regarding health decision making, health information obtained from the Internet caused 45% of HI-users to make an appointment to see a doctor, and 40% of them had questions concerning diagnosis and treatment. Information on health and disease obtained from the Internet undoubtedly affects patient behaviour and health decisions they make.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Decision Making; Exercise; Female; Health Behavior; Health Status; Humans; Internet; Male; Middle Aged; Poland; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 32023828
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17030880 -
Psychoneuroendocrinology Dec 2017Conscientious is associated with greater longevity and other favourable health outcomes, but the processes underlying these links are poorly understood. Health...
Conscientious is associated with greater longevity and other favourable health outcomes, but the processes underlying these links are poorly understood. Health behaviours such as physical activity and avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption may contribute, but direct associations with neuroendocrine and inflammatory processes may also be relevant. We tested the associations between conscientiousness and hair cortisol concentration in 2318 older men and women (mean age 66.2 years) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Conscientiousness was positively associated with physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, and negatively related to alcohol intake, sedentary behaviour, body mass index and depressive symptoms (all p<0.001). We found an inverse association between conscientiousness and hair cortisol concentration that was independent of age, sex, education and wealth (β=-0.053, p=0.012), and the relationship remained significant with additional adjustment for health behaviour and depressive symptoms (β=-0.048, p=0.025). The observation that greater conscientiousness was correlated with lower hair cortisol indicates that this trait might impact central nervous regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical function, with effects that are possibly advantageous for health.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol Drinking; Body Mass Index; Exercise; Female; Hair; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Longevity; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Personality; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Smoking
PubMed: 28950115
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.09.016